Cotton gin



W. R. COLLIER COTTON GIN June 14, 1932.

Filed Jan. 15. 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 1 MMM after way; 4

June 14, 1932. w. R. COLLIER COTTON GI'N 5 sneets sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1929 June 14, 1932. w R COLLIER 1,862,884

COTTON GIN Filed Janv 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented 7 June 14, 1932 UNITED STATES WILLIAM REID COLLIER, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS I COTTON GIN Application filed January 15, 1929. Serial No. 332,701.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a cotton gin.

One object of the invent-ion is to provide a gin of the character described whereby the seed cotton may be fed to the gang of saws along a line or path substantially parallel with the axis on which the saws rotate to the end that the long staple cotton may be first removed by the saws and the shorter staple, or fibers, later removed. Provision is also made whereby the various grades, or staple, of the cotton may be separately removed from the seed and assorted, or kept and baled separately, to the end that the long staple cotton will not be intermixed with, and have its grade lowered by, cotton of shorter sta- With the above and other objects in view, this invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts an example of which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings where- 1n:

' Figure 1 shows an end view of the gin.

Figure 2 shows a transverse vertical sectional view thereof, and

Figure 3 shows a longitudinal vertical sectional view thereof.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein I like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures the numeral 1 designates the casing as a whole. There is a spirallel saw 10 extending substantially, from end to end of the easing and whose turns are held in spiralled relation by means of a spiralled spacer element 10, which is located between the turns of the saw and which, together with the saw, are fixed on the saw shaft 11. The turns of the saw form in effect, a gang of saws with their outer margins serrated. One end of the shaft 11 has a driving pulley 4 fixed thereon which is driven from a belt, (not shown) and also has a spur gear 12 fixed thereon in mesh with the gear 9. This gear 9 is fixed on a stub shaft 8 which also has a pulley 7 fixed thereon.

Above and slightly in the rear of the saws there isa hollow feed drum designated gencongesting in a erally by the numeral 13. One end of this feed drum is fitted around and secured on the annular end plate 14 which is formed with a tubular bearing member 15 which extends outwardly and works in the bearing 16 at one end of the casing 1. An inlet pipe 17 for the seed cotton enters this hearing member 15. The other end of the drum 13 is fitted over and secured on the annular end plate 18 which is provided with the seed discharge openings 19 and which has an outwardly extending stubshaft 20 which works in a suitable bearing 21 in the adjacent end of the casing 1. This stubshaft 20 has a spur gear 22 fixed thereon which is in mesh with and driven by the gear9. In the lower part of the casing there is a longitudinal cylindrical brush 2, extending from end to end of the casing and fixed on the shaft 8. One end of this shaft 3 is extended andhas a pulley- 5 fixed thereon and a belt 6 operates over the pulleys 5 and 7 and transmits rotation from the latter to the former and thereby drives the brush 2.

The brush 2, saws 10 and feed drum 13 rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows in Figure 2. The drum 13, between the end plates 14, 18 has a spiralled slit 23 through which the saws work, as shown in Figure 2 and this drum rides between and against the external supporting rollers 24:, coextensive in length therewith and which are mounted on the shafts 25, whose ends work in bearings in the ends of the casing 1.

As the seed cotton is delivered into the feed drum from the pipe 17 the spirals of the drum, as well as the spiralled saws, will gradually force the cotton along toward the oposite end of the feed drum and in as much as the feed drum is rapidly rotating the cotton will be held by centrifugal force, out about, and distributed around, the inner walls of said drum and will thus be prevented from mass to be acted on by the saws. The saw teeth, being of a spiralled arrangement will act equally over the entire area of the cotton presented to them. The long staple, or long fiber, of the cottonv wlll first be removed from the seed by the saws at the inlet end of the feed drum and the shorter staple will be successively removed by the saws further along toward the other, or discharge end of the feed drum, and the seed, freed from the lint, will not pass through the narrow slit 23, but will be retained in the feed drum and will fall through the openings 19 and may be carried off from the casing by any suitable delivery means provided for the purpose.

The casing, beneath the brush, is separated into a plurality of compartments, preferably three, by the partitions 26, 26 and the staple, as removed from the seed by the saws, is brushed down into the respective compartments, the long staple cotton falling down into the first compartment, the shorter staple falling down into the middle compartment and the lint being collected into the third compartment. Each compartment has an outlet pipe, as 27 through which the different grades of cotton may be delivered to the condenser where it is condensed preparatory to baling.

While I have shown what I now consider to be the preferred form of the invention it is obvious that mechanical changes may be made therein, both in construction and arrangement, and equivalents substituted for the parts shown and I reserve the right to make such changes and substitutions as may be found desirable within the principle of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a cotton gin a saw element having peripheral teeth which describe a cylindrical surface as the element rotates, and means for feeding seed cotton to said teeth in a direction parallel with the axis of said element, said teeth being spirally arranged and being effective to assist in the movement of the cotton along from end to end of the element.

2. In a cotton gin a rotatable element having peripheral teeth, a drum, said drum and rotatable element being mounted to coact to effect the movement of seed cotton along from end to end of said element.

3. In a cotton gin a rotatable spiralled saw having peripheral teeth, means for holding seed cotton in position to be operated on by said teeth, said means being formed to move the cotton in a general course parallel with the axis of said element.

4. In a cotton gin a feed drum having a spiralled slit, means for delivering the cotton into said drum. a saw element having toothed turns which run in said slit, and means for rotating said drum and saw element.

5. In a gin, a feed drum having a spiralled slit, a spiralled saw which works in said slit and is provided with marginal teeth, means for delivering fibrous material into one end of the drum, means for rotating said saw and drum, the drum and saw cooperating to move the said material from the feed end of the drum to the other end thereof.

6. In a gin, a feed drum having a spiralled slit, a spiralled saw which works in said slit and is provided with marginal teeth, means for delivering fibrous material into one end of the drum, means for rotating said saw and drum, the drum and saw cooperating to move the said material from the feed end of the drum to the other end thereof, said last mentioned end of said drum being provided with a discharge opening.

In a gin for fibrous material a feed drum, means for feeding seed cotton into one end of the drum, a saw element having peripheral teeth arranged to cooperate with the drum an d to engage the cotton fiber and strip the same from the seed, means for rotating the drum and saw element, said drum and saw cooperating and forming the only means for moving the cotton along said drum.

8. A cotton gin including a rotatable drum having a spiralled slit, an element rotatable on an axis parallel with the axis of the drum and having peripheral teeth which work through said slit and are provided to engage the fibre of the cotton and strip the same from the seed thereof, drum supporting rollers disposed about the drum, means for delivering the cotton into one end of said drum, said drum and element cooperating to move said cotton along the drum toward the other end thereof.

9. A cotton gin including a rotatable drum having a spiralled slit, an element rotatable on an axis parallel with the axis of the drum and having peripheral teeth which work through said slit and are provided to engage the fibre of the cotton and strip the same from the seed thereof, drum supporting rollers disposed about the drum, means for delivering the cotton into one end of said drum, said drum and element cooperating to move said cotton along the drum toward the other end thereof, a rotatable brush disposed to cooperate with the teeth and remove the fibrous material therefrom.

10. A cotton gin including a rotatable drum having a spiralled slit, an element rotatable on an axis parallel with the axis of the drum, and having peripheral teeth which work through said slit and are provided to engage the fibre of the cotton and strip the same from the seed thereof, drum supporting rollers disposed about the drum. means for delivering the cotton into one end of said drum, said drum and element cooperating to move said cotton along the drum toward the other end thereof, a rotatable brush disposed to cooperate with the teeth and remove the fibrous material therefrom, and separate compartments into which said material is delivered by said brush.

11. In a cotton gin, a rotatable saw of a general cylindrical contour and having peripheral teeth, a rotatable drum cooperating with said saw, said drum and saw forming the only means for passin said cotton along from one end of said rotata le element toward the other end thereof and for retaining the said cotton in position to be operated by said teeth.

12. In a cotton gin, a rotatable saw of a general cylindrical contour and having peripheral teeth, a rotatable drum cooperating with the saw, said drum and saw for-min the only means for passing said cotton along rom one end of said rotatable element toward the other end thereof and for retaining the said cotton in position to be operated upon by said teeth, and a rotatable brush which cooperates with the teeth to remove the fiber therefrom.

13. In a cotton gin, means comprising a spiralled saw and a drum for separating lint cotton into separate staple as it passes through the gin, said drum and saw forming the sole means for moving the cotton along the drum.

14. In ginning cotton the process which consists in moving said cotton to be ginned through an unobstructed rotatable drum in a continuous mass maintaining the mass of cotton distributed around the inner wall of the drum by centrifugal force meanwhile stripping the lint from the seed radially through slits in the drum leaving the stripped seed within the drum.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM REID COLLIER. 

